Salary of Cardiologist

<p>Anyone knows what the salary is for starting Invasive Cardiologist out of a Internal Medicine residency? I was going to post in the "MEDICAL SCHOOL" forum but it is so died</p>

<p>It will not be relevant for you for another 14 years or so. By that time things might be very different...:)</p>

<p>If all you're interested in is your salary, you might want to consider a different profession...Especially the way things are going in this day and age.</p>

<p>After the Internal Medicine Residency you will do a Fellowship in Cardiology and then further training in Invasive Cardiology. </p>

<p>What is considered invasive cardiology now and what will be considered invasive cardiology by the time you finish are as different as the salaries are likely to be.</p>

<p>Invasive cardiologists are well reimbursed for their time, but the entire reimbursement system for medicine in the US could be overhauled by then as well...assume that physicians will always have comfortable salaries, and challenging work...and decide based on other things!!</p>

<p>And remember too, that invasive cardiologists also have HUGE malpractice insurance bills to pay as well. This profession is evolving daily. If it is truly your passion, the salary won't matter as much by the time you are practicing as a physician. Why do you want to know the salary anyway??</p>

<p>You have received good advice. </p>

<p>IMHO, a huge mistake is to chase hot jobs, especially looking out a few years. For example, the engineering profession has been famous for boom bust cycles. CS (computer science) was hot in the late 1990s, so a lot of kids went into CS, only to graduate into the dot com bust over the past few years. Accounting has had similar fates.</p>

<p>In medicine, fields such as anesthesia and radiology (some parts of which are close to interventional cardio, but that is another story...), among others, have had big swings in opportunity.</p>

<p>I should add that many economic and political signs point to medicine as likely to be a particularly turbulent field over the next decade or so. As a society, it is becoming increasingly difficult to afford the escalating costs that made the profession attractive. Add in the emerging battle among hospitals, drug companies and service providers (mostly docs) all competing for the same pot of cash, and you have a mess. For instance, many doc incomes have been flat for years as drug companies (mostly) and hospitals (somewhat) grab the increases in health care spending.</p>

<p>Collegehopeful999 may simply be deciding whether going to a particular college makes any (financial) sense for him, in which case it would be reasonable to have earnings potential statistics.</p>

<p>It's a mistake to chase hot jobs? There is an overall tone here that keeps telling kids to not think about things of course they're going to think about. If you're hoping for a certain lifestyle, investigating the possibilities is a sound approach.</p>

<p>Many industries have cycles. Globalization is effecting certain types of jobs. Medicine is in question as far as whether the Government will be involved. However, with all of the info available, it is quite reasonable that research will yield enough info to make a good decision on where the money will be found. </p>

<p>If you look at Canada, Canadians with heart and other serious problems, who have money, leave Canada and come here for treatment. If we adopt socialized medicine like Canada, our best doctors will leave and go where they can do their work on private rates. Our patients with funds will follow. A good cardiologist will be more and more in demand as boomers age. Today, top cardiologits make $500,000 plus. If you're willing to go where the business is, that will probably only go up.</p>

<p>Half of the kids that think they will do premed drop that idea after taking a semester of organic chemistry. It would be completely ridiculous to base your choice of college based on your potential earnings as an invasive cardiologist a decade and a half later...</p>

<p>Zagat: If the medicine is socialized here, doctors wouldn't run......they have no place to go.</p>

<p>There's always somewhere to go Simba. Read the medical trade press, docs are already talking about places. Bermuda anyone?</p>

<p>Zagat,</p>

<p>I respectfully disagree with your comments on hot jobs and medicine. I've seen too many cycles in various areas. I am professionally involved in the biomedical business. I see and understand what is happening. While the practice of medicine will not, in the foreseeable future, become a low paid profession like teaching, the days of sinfully high incomes (for some specialties) are rapidly ending, at least for those with third party reimbursement. And the working conditions are not improving, either.</p>

<p>So, Zagat, chase all you want. You may succeeed in beating the cycle, the market forces, whatever. You may not. But at least you'll have an education. Just remember to maintain some flexibility, as most of us who have been in the workforce a few years (or decades..) have found we reinvented and redirected ourselves more than once.</p>

<p>newsmassdad, why don't we have a single payer system and get rid of the middlemen?</p>

<p>Do all these insurance companies really add value?</p>

<p>newmassdad, it is very true that the average doctor will do less well financially as time marches on in this Country. Their pay has been in decline for some time now. We've seen doctors in our neighborhood forced to move down in terms of homes and lifestyles. However, there are some specialties that will be more lucrative than ever. Number one is plastic surgety. Number 2 is dermatology. Cardiologists with excellent reputations will continue to have clients from around the world willing to pay top dollar.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos074.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos074.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>from the U.S. Dept. of Labor, Dept of Labor Statistics</p>

<p>Physicians have among the highest earnings of any occupation. According to the Medical Group Management Association’s Physician Compensation and Production Survey, median total compensation for physicians in 2002 varied by specialty, as shown in table 1. Total compensation for physicians reflects the amount reported as direct compensation for tax purposes, plus all voluntary salary reductions. Salary, bonus and/or incentive payments, research stipends, honoraria, and distribution of profits were included in total compensation.
Table 1. Total compensation of physicians by specialty, 2002 </p>

<p>Anesthesiology
$306,964</p>

<p>Surgery, general
255,438</p>

<p>Obstetrics/gynecology
233,061</p>

<p>Psychiatry
163,144</p>

<p>Internal medicine
155,530</p>

<p>Pediatrics/adolescent medicine
152,690</p>

<p>Family practice (without obstetrics)
150,267</p>

<p>Footnotes:
(1) SOURCE: Medical Group Management Association, Physician Compensation and Production Report, 2003.</p>

<p>Self-employed physicians—those who own or are part owners of their medical practice—generally have higher median incomes than salaried physicians. Earnings vary according to number of years in practice, geographic region, hours worked, and skill, personality, and professional reputation. Self-employed physicians and surgeons must provide for their own health insurance and retirement.</p>

<p>I should also note that the average family doctor, pediatrician, etc. in affluent areas are becomming more financially savvy. There are now "clubs" you can join by paying out of pocket beyond your insurance. For a fee, you get better access, no waiting for appointments and generally VIP service.</p>

<p>Bermuda anyone?</p>

<p>Yes....then they will have three doctors for every Bernudian.</p>

<p>Zagat, Bucca, </p>

<p>There is no question that some specialities have rather high average incomes right now. That was not my point, and a single point analysis does not tell you much. It is more useful to look at trends over time, and even more useful to look at hourly income over time.</p>

<p>And yes, plastics does well - no third party reimbursement limits. But how many folks out there are ready to spend $xx,000 for plastic surgery that have not already done so? Same goes for botique medicine in general. How many on these boards would pay $5,000 just for access....</p>

<p>dstark, no need to try to start a debate over health care finance, unless you want to take it to the cafe. I thought the purpose here was to help the students make decisions, and I'm just raising some issue.</p>

<p>newmassdad, many, many people are and will continue to be willing to pay for beauty. And boutique medicine. Forget these things if you want to live in rural Arkansas, but if you want to work in a major city and can attend great med schools, these are very viable, high paying options. This has been studied to death. There is a Harvard B school professor, can't recall his name, who has been hired extensively by medical groups to see into the future. Boomers will provide all kids of medical gold mines for well placed MDs.</p>

<p>Asking who on this board will pay for these things is not a fair test. Neither plastic surgery nor boutique medicine will be something the average person partakes in, although plastic surgery procedures are gaining popularity among the middle class. And most people will not seek out the world's best cardiologist. However, there are more than enough people to keep good plastic surgeons constantly busy, good cardiologists too and people are flocking to pay the $5K to avail themselves of VIP MD attention.</p>

<p>I think newsweek or possibly US News recently had an article about this very trend that you're all talking about, the war compensation war, etc.. I'm a high school senior who is seirously considering medicine as a profession (I'm an EMT now). Do any of you have any articles/links for further reading about the whole situation? I understand the general problem and that medicine may change soon, but I don't REALLY get it.</p>

<p>For example, one would think that with the large group of aging overweight Americans, cardiology would be a more lucrative field. Yet the road to happiness is still in radiology, ophthalmology, anesthesiology, and dermatology. What gives?</p>